Tom Brady jokes around on Twitter about his receiving skills

Never above laughing at himself, Patriots would-be receiver Tom Brady used Twitter to lampoon his own abilities catching the football.

It shouldn’t surprise you to learn that New England quarterback Tom Brady has amassed 70,514 passing yards over the course of his career – the fourth-highest total in NFL history, per ProFootballReference. It might surprise you a bit more to learn that the 42-year-old finally eclipsed the 1,000-yard career rushing mark last season… even if it only took him 19 years to do so.

What probably will surprise you is that Brady actually has 65 receiving yards in his Hall of Fame career.

Now 65 yards is what Brady’s good buddy Julian Edelman racks up in a single game. But for a quarterback who rarely does anything besides throw the football, it’s kind of a big deal.

Brady actually has three career receptions on two targets – think about that mathematical conundrum for a moment if you dare. One reception came in his sophomore season (2001) and went for 23 yards; the second came in 2015 and went for 36 yards; and the most recent came just last year: a scorching back-breaker that went for a whole six yards.

Of course, Brady’s most memorable receiving stat came in the postseason of 2017. Down six points to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52, New England attempted a trick play that involved back-to-back handoffs before then-receiver Danny Amendola lofted a pass toward a “streaking” Brady down the sideline.

While the gimmick worked and TB12 was left completely alone, open, and uncovered, Brady saw the ball bounce off his outstretched fingers and fall incomplete to the ground. The Eagles later added insult to injury by conjuring up a trick play of their own – the infamous “Philly Special” – wherein Philadelphia QB Nick Foles successfully caught a pass for a touchdown.

The Patriots’ loss in that game certainly didn’t boil down to Brady bobbling that one catch, but the image did become a popular meme in its own right. Photos circulated online that superimposed the Lombardi Trophy over the football, falling away and just out of reach as Brady comes up empty-handed, his eyes wide with alarm and disappointment.

Over two years removed from that crushing loss, it appears that Brady is ready to move past his failed catch and poke a little fun at himself in the process. He shared an image on Twitter Tuesday of himself attempting to catch another pass at practice… with a hilarious caption and comment underneath.

“I know your drafts are coming up so I need to let all of you know I’m a PPR threat now,” Brady captioned the original image. PPR, for those who don’t know, is a popular version of fantasy football in which players earn extra points per receptions, thus placing a premium on receivers (and on other skill position players who can catch).

Perhaps in an effort to get out ahead of all the Internet trolls who surely would have been quick to remind him about his crucial non-reception versus the Eagles, Brady then commented a quick follow-up on his own post with this:

“We’re in the trust tree here, no Super Bowl 52 jokes please.”

Of course, it’s easy to make fun of yourself and laugh off your own failures when you’re widely viewed as perhaps the greatest football player to ever live. Besides, Brady bounced back from that disappointing defeat in Super Bowl 52 in the best possible way: with a victory in Super Bowl 53 the very next year.